Fabregas joined the Blues for £30m earlier this summer with Arsenal reportedly declining to match Chelsea's bid.

The Gunners had an option on the midfielder which allowed them to match any bid which was accepted for Fabregas by Barcelona.

“He was very much in our direction. It was an easy job for me”

Jose Mourinho

But Mourinho has stuck the knife into the Gunners, insisting Fabregas never saw the Emirates as his next destination, hinting that Fabregas thought Arsenal would NOT be competing for trophies domestically and in Europe.

Mourinho said: "I spoke with him for 20 minutes, I think he really wanted to come to us.

"As you know Arsenal had an option where they could interfere but I think he was not open to that.

Mourinho's words will hurt Arsenal fans, many of whom still idolise Fabregas for his performances over 8 years in North London.

Fabregas was Chelsea's first signing of the summer, but the Spaniard has since been joined by Diego Costa and Filipe Luis as Mourinho attempts to build a squad that can compete for the Premier League title next seaon